June 28, Colombo: Muslims in Sri Lanka will begin observing Ramadan from Saturday evening, and will start fasting on Sunday, the Colombo Grand Mosque has announced.

According to the Anadolu Agency, the manager of the mosque has said that the first stage of the crescent moon, the criteria used for deciding Ramadan's beginning, had been sighted in several parts of Sri Lanka.

The decision to begin Ramadan from June 29 was taken at a meeting on Saturday attended by the members of All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU), Colombo Grand Mosque, Muslim Religious and Cultural Department, Sharia Council and Moulavis.

The Ramadan starts tomorrow in the backdrop of rising religious tensions between the majority Buddhists and minority Muslims following the attacks on Muslims by Buddhist extremists in the Muslim-dominated towns of Aluthgama and Beruwala.